A Year in Length
by Kuro49
Summary: 12 DGM drabbles based on 12 special days in a year. December 31st: A stretch of perfect white till their boot prints come crashing down. A group Exorcist shot.
1. January 1st

In celebration of a new year, I have launched a new drabble series(let me hear some cheers?), updated once a month, no pairings(at least most of them), and ranges widely from birthday celebrations to holidays and even character exploration. (Just anything and everything I can come up with )XD Any questions on how this works, do ask as I'll be happy to reply! V

First day of the year, lets start off fresh with Miranda's turn to shine! I don't own anything.

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**A Year In Length**

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**000 January 1st: That last snowstorm pass and the cold air is still.**

Miranda, she could taste the snowflake gliding a wet trail down her pale frozen cheek, melting right at the corner of her mouth. Her long black dress trailed at the ground, picking up the slush that licked at the dark fringes, tasting the bitter dust that had gathered during the long winter slumber.

Listening, she could hear the faint dripping of water from the frozen icicles dangling on the branches of bare trees. The chilled wind made the slight wave in her hair give a bounce, and a shiver crawled down her shirtfront.

She caught the fragile green poking up from beneath the white, bending down she dug at the snow with her fingers, quickly numbed and frozen from the tips till the ends. She saw the dirt and it was frozen, her fingers were red from the cold and her nails were rimmed with black from the soil.

It was going to die. The snow was cold, it was very cold.

And she could do nothing about it.

Standing up she wiped her hands on her dress, heavy maroon fabric contrasting against the snow.

"Miranda!" She looked up at the sound of her name.

The bright red made her avert her gaze, she could only blame her own instincts.

"Hello… Rabi." Struggling in her mind she fought to find an honorific, anything to call the other with, but her search was fruitless and the results came back zero and she cringed under the pressure.

"Didn't want to see me?" The red head had fallen into steps with her with a joking tone to his voice, slowly as he led her out of the cold. Her dark eyes widened as she snapped her head up to face him and with her hands held up, she waved vigorously. "No, no, no! I am really happy to see you! Just surprised, that's all."

She insisted, desperation showing through her face. Rabi gave her a pat, oblivious to the small flinch at the physical contact that she let out. "Don't be so nervous, you make a guy feel nervous too!"

He gave a laugh as he held the door open for her.

"I am so sorry!" She bowed her head before walking through the door with a rushed, "thank you!"

"Your welcome." He gave a grin before grabbing a hold of her arm; she let out a surprised gasp, turning with confusion knitted on her face and a question right at the tip of her tongue. And as if he could read right through her, Rabi had said, "I'll tell you, just a little longer."

A wink, a secret and she was pulled along the hall.

Her father had said: _Alles gute zum Geburtstag!_ before pulling her into his lap. That was at least 15 years ago. His hands were warm, like Rabi's and the way he had said it brought a smile to her lips; only it was even brighter than the ones Rabi could muster (and it was heartfelt real).

"Right here!" They had stopped and he had proudly declared it, just like a child would to their mother with a sloppy drawing of their family clutched between their fingers. She looked at the closed door, lost as to his intentions, dark eyes swarming with that confused puppy glow. She was hesitant because she didn't want to misunderstand anyone but even this time the trick was beyond her.

"…The cafeteria?"

Rabi's grin never wavered; he just let go of her arm and gave her a little push to the door.

"Open it."

And she complied, fingers trembling as she reached out, touching the handle of the doors.

It gave a creak—

_Alles gute zum Geburtstag!_ That is what her mother had said before cutting her the biggest slice of the cake. That was most definitely, if her memory of them were still in tact, almost 15 years ago.

Rabi leaned in and whispered.

"Happy birthday, Miranda."

It was mixed with the shout from their voices.

She blinked at the lot of them, confetti fell from the ceiling and a cake was wheeled in front of her as Rabi ushered her further into the room. A knife was shoved into her hands as they lit the candles to a glowing red.

She bowed, palm clammy with cold sweat as she let out a quiet, "Danke schön." The cake was cut.

And over the roar of the party, her thanks went unheard but the smile remained on the face, stubborn to stay even for just one day.

XXX Kuro

**Happy New Year and Happy Birthday Miranda!!** **V**

Man, I love this girl, she is such a sweetheart with such an interesting character! And throwing Rabi is there was uber fun, the gloomiest with the brightest, the contrast between them was so awesome! :D Hope everyone have an awesome 2009!!~

German to English:  
Alles gute zum Geburtstag!— Happy Birthday!  
Danke schön.— Thank you.


	2. February 14th

Woot! Second chapter, you could have guessed the date right? :3 The Day of love, try guessing who it could be, it can't be hard, these lovers were made for each other ;D (When I say an exception with pairings, this is the one~) I don't own like always.

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**A Year In Length**

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**000**** February 14th: The smell of bittersweet chocolate lingers heavily in the air.**

The day declared for lovers. Sweet kisses and possessive hugs. Pink lace and red ribbons. He could hear the delighted tune to their steps and the joy coiling in their sweet, sweet voices.

Blonde hair, full lips and a pout that could kill.

And it literally did too.

He remembered the way her cool fingertips would send a shock up his spine. And the way she looked at him with those red rose eyes, no flower could compare and he was still head over heels even after so long. No matter what they say, time can never make you love someone any less because his heart was still hurting, still burning, no matter how fake her love had always been.

I love you.

Her lips moved and he listened to her gentle voice, burning a deafening message into his head.

"I…lo—" She placed a finger on his lips, pale length over the nervous smile that spread over his white tinted cheeks.

His skin crawled when she touched him, black fingernails scrapping lightly over his cheek as she gave him a small pat. It felt like parasites eating away at him, eating him alive, right from the inside out. He trembled and her eerie smile made it worst.

I like you.

I love you.

I adore you.

Three words tossed around carelessly like a baseball, interchanging but always the same meaning.

What makes these words so much sweeter than all the other?

It tasted like honey over candy, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

He walked through the dim hallways, black cape lingering behind like a shadow in the dark, always just one step slower. The carpet was plush and the curtains were a heavy velvet. Her lips stretched, widening into a secretive smile, she held his hand. Hers was warm and soft, his was cold and clammy. Her heels glinted in the candlelight and her blonde streaks glowed like gold. She had always been so much more human than he could ever be.

_If you love me, Aryster..._

The raw smell of sugar was sickeningly heavy in the air.

He could hear the gentle wailing of their beloved children, tauntingly kind as they were fed with cold human flesh gone gray. 'Arystar…' Her voice woke him from his daze, her hand tightened around his, fingers interlocking in a series of unfulfilled promises. She blinked; long golden eyelashes brushing at her cheek, red lips a bloody scarlet.

"Are you alright?"

He looked up, Rinali stood there in concern.

"Ye—I mean…n— I don't know." He tried to offer a weak smile. She gave a small laugh, content at the return of his anxious behaviors.

"Can you hold out your hand, Krory?"

He held out a hand without a complaint, glad he could do something for the young girl with the dark hair. He felt something cold and metallic touch his palm, looking down it was a heart wrapped in golden foil.

_Then please let go._

He gave a guess.

"Chocolate?"

Rinali held out the tray she had hidden behind her back all along, he was just too busy with the dark to take notice. It was a small golden mountain of identical hearts.

Krory placed the offered chocolate back in the tray with a slight bow of his head, accompanied by an apologetic smile. "Thank you, Rinali, but I rather not."

"Don't like chocolate?" She didn't seem offended at all as she watched the pale hand drop the piece of sweet back into the tray. He didn't verbally reply but she saw the faint smile on his lips and knew he was going to be just fine. "Happy Valentine's Day, Krory."

_Because I love you too much, Arystar._

Her lips touched his; it tasted of lipstick, artificial and man made. But underneath the layers of fake skin and flesh, he could faintly hear the gentle whirring of machines and despair.

"Thank you."

He gave her a bow and his most sincere smile.

"Happy Valentine's Day to you too."

Love was too much like chocolate, sweet when it touches your tongue but painfully bitter as you finally swallow it. He had tasted it before and he refused to try it, unless it was her again.

XXX Kuro

Happy V-Day everyone! I love that sexy Akuma Eliade, why can't the Level 4 look like her?? I would enjoy it so much more if it did! -pouts- Anyways, hope everyone out there find love, if not for someone then for yourself, or better yet for these lovely DGM boys and girls~ -hands out Rinali's golden foiled chocolate hearts- v


	3. March 20th

Third one so soon! –bubbly gasp- March 20th, for those who don't know, it is actually the first day of spring this year! V Although the weather is still below zero where I live but theoretically it is spring. So lets pray for good weather… for my sake at least…? ;) I don't own.

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**A Year In Length**

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**000 March 20th: ** **The apple gleams at the top of the tree from the point of view of the moist dew ground.**

The wooden wheels stopped at the side of the dirt road, the dust quickly settled and they all stumbled off the ride with mumbles, mutters, and loud laughter of a joke that no one else have heard.

A man jumped off the wagon and stood right at the edge of the grassy stretch they happened to have paused at, his cheekbones were smeared with a faint trace of red and white powder. And then he drawled out with a stretch of his back. "When will we arrive?" He didn't even bother to hide the tired sigh from leaving his lips.

"I don't know." She had thick make up on as she crossed her arms, feet folding beneath that dress as she took a seat on the edge of the cart. Her narrow shoulders gave a tired shrug and she gave a reply, offhandedly. "Who really cares…"

A few more of the similar carts rolled up, red and yellow stripped coverings over the top to protect their equipments.

"Just a few more miles to go, guys."

They looked up in alarm to see who have came up behind them, and with an annoyed scowl, the lady turned back to her finger nails, currently painted a horrid black to match her next show of whips and flames.

"Relax, trainer." He crouched down and laid a hand on her shoulder, she didn't relax, just tried to shrug him off with a hiss to her ruby lips.

"I swear, one of these days, I am going to feed you to one of my cats, _Mana_."

He chuckled, all in good nature. And the man, face still smeared with the clown make up added, "better be careful, we all know her definition of cats includes tigers, lions, and leopards." He swallowed a laugh at her glare.

"Hey Mana!"

He felt a tug on his shirt as a little boy jumped from the cart, his shoes landed on the dirt road with a light scuff at the sand and gravel. He pointed a finger at the single tree on the grassy field, innocence dancing in his brown eyes and asked. "Can I go climb the apple tree over there?"

The man sat down next to the woman before calmly replying the child with the uncombed hair. "Just don't hurt yourself, you know what our next act is, right Allen?"

He nodded, a grin blossoming over his cheeks before waving to the woman and man with that childish twinkle to his eyes and with that he ran off, a laugh to Mana's name.

"It must be hard on the kid to live in a world of adults."

No one could find a suitable reply to the animal trainer's words.

His shoes slipped and glided on the fresh dew on the grass, it was early and the ground was still wet, he almost fell head first into the trunk of the tree, thank god he fell on his rear instead, although that landed him with wet trousers for the rest of the day.

But for now, the tree was of way more importance, it towered over him and he stood there with his neck cranked up high to catch the highest leaf growing from the top branch. He grinned in the sun as the apple tree swayed in the warm spring wind. The scent of the fruits drifted in pink, accompanying the wind, like teaching a child the notes to a song.

A gentle snap echoed hollowly in the air, like a crispy crunch as his lips closed around its red skin.

It was sour.

His tongue recoiled as soon as the juices touched his taste buds.

It was raw and sour.

But he did like the velvety thickness as the juices ran down his throat, feeling the threads between each vocal cord with an acidic caress. As he swallowed, the nostalgic feeling of that spring day quickly evaporated over his head.

"Hurry up, Moyashi!"

He dodged the rotten apple thrown his way with a quick duck and a girly shriek.

He stood up in a huff, and with an undignified shout he tried to mend his bruised ego, "I have a name you know!"

He threw the half eaten apple cord at the Japanese, standing just a way off. Kanda gave a scoff at the offending object as it fell, almost 3 feet from where he stood. And with a superior smirk in place, he turned and walked off, abandoning the exorcist standing beneath the tree, decorated with the half ripe apples.

"Inconsiderate jerk." And with a mutter, Allen picked another sour apple from the tree.

XXX Kuro

Ahh... -stuffed with sour apples- Allen in the good old Mana-days. -self-satisfied- XDDD Note: Apples are usually harvested at late July/August… no wonder Allen had such a sour one ;D


	4. April 9th

In celebration of my b-day (as a little gift for myself XD) I decided to throw in a bit of my heritage and what is better than through the use of our most beloved Anita! V Although I hope nobody mind me putting the translation right beside the Chinese in brackets because I _personally _hate scrolling up and down. :P I don't own like always and forever, yes even when I turn 80.

And of course, one of the twelve most important days of a year just has to be my birthday ;D Eccentric much? Well I am only human~ v

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**A Year In Length**

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**000 April 9th: The lanterns glow a red between the heavy drizzles of rain that came down thick.**

She shifted in her seat; the pink peony was overly elaborated on the heavy decorations on her head. Her fingernails tapped at the wood of her chair, following the quiet tune of the rain on the windowpanes.

The door opened and she sat up straighter, back bent on giving the best first impression she could muster. Her heavy lidded eyes shield those black pearl orbs and her lips pulled into a coy smile of flirtatious intent that only showed off her class and nothing more.

And the casual greetings slipped off her tongue, smoother than it would in oil. "歡迎 來到「天青樓」。" (Welcome to 「_name of her Chinese Brothel_」)

And the little whistle that was let out was enough to quirk her interest.

"What a flashy brothel you have here, Anita."

She looked up, and her eyes widen but the smile remained, aside from that twinge of surprise that refused to go. "If it isn't the infamous…" And as if saying his name wasn't enough, the gleam of the silver cross on his chest had caught her coal eyes. "_General_ Marian Cross."

"I take it you still remember me."

"Who can forget," she bowed her head, eyelashes kissing her powder pale complex as she stood up, strides emitting that familiar confidence that Cross had almost forgotten. With a slight turn of her head, she added."曼茶，幫我看著店舖。"(Mahoja, look after the store for me.)

Mahoja gave a quick nod, her frown deepened at their backs, one black lined with white, one red embroidered with gold, but she swallowed the thoughts against the events, happening right before her eyes.

"小姐，"Anita turned her head at the gentle warning, eyes washing over Mahoja's stance. (Mistress,)

"拿傘啊。"(Bring an umbrella.)

She smiled and with a convenient swipe of her wrist, she had picked up an umbrella from the stand by the wooden framed doors. Cross pulled open the door and stepped out, she opened the umbrella; it was a paper one, smeared with wax from inside out. The flowers that decorated the surface were faint, like smudges of old dyes that dried with time.

"Lets take a walk."

They both stepped out from underneath the coverings of the brothel's ground floor, the dark wooden structure was practically glowing, flaunting a warm red from the waxed paper lanterns that hung all along the walls and tapestries.

Anita could smell the wine lingering on his shirt, cuffs and collars included. But the scent of rain was heavy enough to smother everything else. It was suffocating as the stray drops soaked at her clothes, leaving behind patterns of dark dots.

"Do you need some shelter?" She tilted the umbrella; he gave a shook of his head.

"I'm wet already, there's no point in getting you wet as well."

She stepped closer nonetheless, umbrella tilted just a bit his way, faint smile daunting her red lips as the heels of her shoes dragged along the road, kicking up the water that flooded the streets. It was the rainy season in China and no one, not even her could avoid the sleek rain falling fast to crash right at their feet, moving in unison to the tuneless winds weaving its ways through the maze of wet air.

Her mouth felt dry, and she could just taste the lipstick's bitter tinge on her tongue.

"Are you looking for my… mother?"

The streets were lit up, yellow and red, one lantern after another, framing the street in its bright glow, just slightly hazed down by the thick rain coming down. They passed by another brothel, just much _much_ shabbier than hers and the half dressed ladies stood at the door, cooing, flaunting, flirting, as they dragged another half drunk man into the store.

"No."

"So you've heard…"

She switched the umbrella from her left hand to her right, the bamboo handle was warm from the temperature of her palm and she noticed a chipped nail in her distraction.

"She was a fine woman."

Anita was taken back by the care in his voice, and her eyes were cast down, black lashes barely caressing her pale cheeks. "Yes, she certainly was."

Anita had always thought Cross was nothing but a flirt (just like the first time he had stepped into the brothel and her mother could not help but fall for his charms), nothing but a womanizer (just like the time she has caught a glimpse of his red hair disappearing into a near by store, hands roaming over another woman with black silk for hair), nothing but a man looking for someone to warm up the nights (just like the times when he would disappear into her mother's chambers and stumbled out at the crack of dawn, smelling of nothing but the woman he had just bedded).

She never understood, not even when her mother had died. Anita could not grasp, why her mother had never let another man get as close as he had, never let another hand roamed as far as his did. Now she somewhat does, even if it was just a little bit of the truth that she had always wanted to know.

In the grand scheme of things, she understood that they were just petty little women.

The water kissed his cheeks, like the way his mother would have never wanted and ran down and down his face. She stared at the red in the blazing lanterns.

"My mother would be glad you came back."

The red lantern fire flickered in her eyes.

XXX Kuro

This one was too much fun, I love the rain, I love Cross and most of all I love Anita in all her brothel glory. But to make this fic come true, I had to distort a bit of reality, the raining season in China isn't really April, it is more in July and August. :P (Let me be happy for just today before you bash me?)


	5. May 10th

For all those mothers out there! Since DGM is not a female-dominated (or a mother-friendly) manga, I had written a Rinali centric, as she _is_ the main female (although her motherly instincts are nothing compared to Hevlaska, but due to time and inspirations, please do read this.) I don't own.

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**A Year in Length**

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**000 May 10th: Bathing in the sunny glow, the flowers are in full bloom.**

She had strawberries in her hair and a tinge of citrus fruits etched into the hemming of her clothes. Her head was swimming with memories, white and yellow chrysanthemums for the deceased parents she could never remember and palm-sized gears of a little invention her brother had lost the inspiration to finish.

The wind made her hair dance to a song she couldn't hear but she made up for it with a light hum of a lullaby she could not remember the lyrics for. Her black hair was heated in the sun and she had wished it were tied up before she had stepped into this dream.

And then the splashes of the fish in that trickle of a river made her pause and think about those little childish demands that she had made of her brother. Perhaps it was at that moment that she realized, from the pit of her stomach to the tip of her toes.

That the sun was very… just very very bright.

It made her cower for a second, searching for a shadow. A low whimper crawled past her lips but it died as soon as it touched the summer air, melting right on her skin before dripping to the soil acting as unwanted nutrients to the fields of swaying daisies dancing away in the sunny bath.

Where were the leather buckles that restrained her in the dark? She needed them to bring her back to reality before she fell apart in these fantasies. But her wrists were a pasty white and there were not even a raw red cut that marked her skin.

Her eyes were half lidded, shy as she cringed at the touch of innocent sunshine splashed on her skin, drawing up pictures of bright bright paint. There was a tree in the distance, she wanted to run, she started to run, feet padding on the warm earth, she could feel the daisies' petals kissing her toes and she gave a solemn bow for killing them all.

But the tree was still so far… so damn far away.

And her feet felt so heavy.

(It was the innocence playing tricks on her.)

She wanted to cry but even then the innocence in her would not allow a weakling to become in control. Her eyes were as dry as her throat.

But they captured a hazy dreamy sight of those crisp green leafs swaying in the wind's whistled song. The smell of daisies was suffocating and she wearily watched each petal, each stem, each out stretched leaf. Hungry, they were hungry. They were hungry and desperate for the sun's soothing glow. The pinks and whites lay in specks in the field of green; the sky was blue, clear as far as the human eye could see.

And then her knees gave out beneath her; gravity quickly came by and swooped her straight down to fall in the dirt.

The roots of the daisies licked at her skin and the dirt smeared across her cheeks, she closed her eyes, seeing the sun behind her eyelids and all those little vines that crawled like snakes. Her eyelashes were just long enough to graze at her cheek, leaving behind butterfly kisses that she could barely feel.

She opened her eyes; it was a dark gray when it should have been starch white like the solid surface of a ceiling. But she was no longer bounded to the bed with leather straps biting into her skin because they had finally declared her as stable, not the mentally insane brat that needed to be beaten into understanding of the adult world (or maybe it was because she had finally given up, allowing their so-called God, whom she will never believe in, melt the innocence right into her blood stream.)

She sat up, back sticky with the sweat of the dream turned nightmare, feeling as warmth baked in the sheets. Her legs were wrapped in white, tangled within the beddings and they felt so heavy.

The late night summer heat burned in the air like the buzzing of busy honeybees and she was suffocating in their stings. Her eyes were dark when they should have been a warm chocolate brown, she watched the colors from the dream blended in a spectrum of messy paint right on her window, it made a painting even worst than the boy whose right hand was forced to be replaced by a paintbrush that he gripped as though it was his trusty sword.

She was hallucinating and the drugs that they pumped her with were enough to sweep her off of her feet but the dark boots she was forced to equip with made her stand up when she want to fall down, made her drown when she want to live.

She reached to brush a damp lock of black from her face; she wanted to cut it, those long ebony strands. But they were the only links that kept her in tact to the her that still stood by her brother, somewhere who was still thinking about the mei mei that was chained to the God she could never put any faith in.

The temperature in the room was just so damn hot.

But the sun has yet to rise.

And she heaved out a heavy breath before falling back to the realm of the fairy tale she could never have.

XXX Kuro

Not the _happiest_ fic out there but we all know her life gets better… or the best one can get in a war… =u=bb I think I am now just digging my own grave. DD: Happy Mother's Day!!~ V


	6. June 6th

You all knew this was coming, after all, he is everyone's favorite sword-wielding exorcist with the really nice hair! XD (And if you don't like him, then I really have no idea what to offer you on such a nice June day~) So here I present you: A Kanda Special (with appearance from Leverier!! -gasp-) I really ought to stop, so I don't own~

Side note: (READ HERE! READ HERE!) Today is officially the first day in the 64 days of RaYu lovin'! And yes, I am here in promotion of RaYu/RK/LaYu/**LaviYu Day** on July 8th! Please contact me if you are interested and I can direct you to further details ;D Happy RaYu Fest.!!!

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**A Year in Length**

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**000 June 6th: The sun has always been there; we just never bother to admire it when we had the chance.**

The man was holding a cube in his hands, it was glowing and its aura was an aqua. His fingers seemed so pale as he stared down from behind those Western wire glasses. It was hot and the air was suffocating, it was still the month of June.

"You are an accommodator."

Each letter, each word made a sentence that made no sense.

He didn't understand what he was saying. (He was Japanese after all.)

But he understood what he had meant. (Maybe it was the expression and gestures.)

And the sun was too bright for his blue eyes, not fit for an Asian child of merely eight. The man dropped the cube in his hands in the exact manner as the boy had lowered his eyes. His palms glowed with a pale light. And the sun still won't go down. (It was barely even noon.)

The much older man crouched down to his level, staring at him from behind those thin glass panes. The sun made the cube glow so much stronger and his eyes could not even come close to that liquid aqua, flowing in his hands as it materialized.

"This is your innocence."

_That was almost a year ago._

And three days before, he had followed his Gensui back to the 'Black Order.'

It was a tall tower build of gray rocks piled one on top of the other and the little windows were like fireflies in the dark. He was one of the hundred or thousands if he had miscounted as he stood in the middle of his new room. It smelt of dust and nothing else. And Kanda had realized that he had never taken much notice of the Japanese sun.

At least not until the day he had stepped foot into London, where the sea salt wafted into his nose and he held it all in before he could throw it all up over the edge of the little boat.

The katana was heavy in his hands, his fingers could barely even wrap around the width of it. He had finally sheathed the blade just last week; it was a bit tedious to think that he had been carrying around the damn thing for almost a year before he had been able to wield it properly. It was stupid, he was stupid and they were stupid for even thinking he could wave this thing around. But he was learning, still trying to hold the blade and beat down demons like he had seen his Gensui do.

Did he ever mention these glass panes weren't even transparent? He could not see the sun through the window in his room.

And it was already June. (_So soon?_)

"Don't bring trouble on yourself like that poor little girl...." Gensui's sentence died after that, and he stared down at his charcoal stained hands with a sad sort of look washed over his face. Kanda noticed that his Gensui smelled of paint and acrylic; he couldn't help but wrinkle his nose in annoyance.

The young General led him to a door, and the door led them to a man.

"Tiedoll, another _kid_?" The sneer the man pulled was almost insulting; Kanda bit the inside of his cheeks, fighting the urge to lash out at being called a child. "Did you make a mistake?"

"Leverier, innocences don't make mistakes." His Gensui stared at the man sitting in the chair with an even gaze. He gave a wave of his hand as if to dismiss the General but his actions only made him come across as dreadfully obnoxious. He directed his stare to the young boy as Tiedoll walked over to stand by the doors. "Name?"

"Kanda Yuu."

He stared at the boy from head to toe, running his sharp gaze before resting them to stare into his blue orbs. He didn't seem particularly interested at his answers so Kanda couldn't really understand why he was asking all these pointless questions when a look into his profile could have said more than he was ever willing to answer. And the man with the mustache asked another question. "And your innocence?"

"Mugen."

A few minutes into the questioning, the man made a comment.

"I thought you were Rinali Li when you first came in." He gave a laugh at the mention of the girl's name before continuing. "What a stupid girl that one is, if only she would accept her innocence then we wouldn't have to go through all this trouble. She just doesn't understand how to cooperate even when she is tied up, we might need to hang her from the ceiling one of these days."

Leverier let out a smug chuckle. How cruel.

He absentmindedly took a step forward at those words. And with the slight movement, he caught sight of the shadows moving, there were people standing at the walls of the room, cloaked in black, protecting the man in the center from anything he had wanted to do. (_And there were so many things he had wanted to test Mugen out on that man with the nasty smirk._) He saw the gentle shake of his Gensui's head.

It was June and the sun was out. He physically backed off.

"Cake, birthday boy?"

Kanda took the offered plate, irony twisting his lips into a smile, it plastered across his face. And with a loose grip on the chinaware, his fingers slipped from the porcelain handed to him.

The china plate smashed to the ground, right in front of the man in the chair. And the cream splattered against the floor, flicking white at the toe of Leverier's black boots. The cake lay in crumbles between them, the fruits, smeared in white were plastered against the ground, it was disgusting to the boy from Japan and insulting to the man from Central.

"My mistake."

Kanda spat out with a sneer, not backing down but never stepping forward either. He turned to follow his Gensui out the door with a smirk tugging on his lips. And Mugen felt just all right grasped in his hand.

And the hot sun didn't seem as important in this dreary London tower because the distance from home was zero now.

XXX Kuro

In your face, Leverier! ;D Never liked the guy and his interest in cakes just make him all the more creepy. D: Happy Birthday Kanda~ Next chapter is July! (And f-gosh! August don't even have a concept!! DD:)


	7. July 11th

July is a hard month to find a holiday, besides Canada Day and all those boring holidays... so I decided to go do some work (finally) and looked what I found? July 11th: _Cheer Up the Lonely Day_. -gets shot by Judgement- ;) I don't own anything.

XXX

**A Year In Length**

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**000 ****July 11th: Silver crosses tend to glow brighter under the sun.**

"Your name is…"

He tilted his head to the side; long hair a burgundy red and she blinked her eyes almost in confusion as he tried to remember the girl sitting in the dirt in front of him.

"Sachiko."

"Sa— chi— ko?"

She tasted the three syllables on her fleshy tongue. Sitting up from the ground, she felt the sun on her skin, her spine gave a few pops as she straightened her stance. She raised a limp finger at the ball of gold that had caught her eyes. Floating in the air, it had wings and a big mouth. Its teeth were sharp and she almost flinched when it gave a snap of its jaws. "What," she asked, " is that?"

"Timcampi."

"Tim-timcampi?"

There was no further explanation to that word.

And then she asked another question, it may have came from the modification that still made each bone in her body strain with a constant throbbing ache. But her curiosity was really hard to restrain. Her head tilted to the side; neck cranking up to see him. "Who are you?"

"Cross."

The amount of names made her head hurt but somehow she knew this name was important, will become important, has always been important. "Cross."

He gave a nod accompanied by a puff of gray smoke, she tried to touch it but nothing could be grasp by her body's fingers. Her hand went right through and she looked up at him almost expectantly.

"Do I call you that?" Her lips moved and they spilled from them without another thought, it brought a slight pink glow to her flawless cheeks. She couldn't quite understand the heat on her face as she brushed a foreign brown lock away from her gaze.

He peered at her from behind his glasses, a smirk made his lips part. He reached down and tilted her chin up; her gaze stared blankly up at him, obliviously to the tricks the usual human girl would have already been swooning over. "You are kinda' cute, m' name is General Marian Cross. Call me whatever you like."

She nodded and he let go, his glove tipped fingers grazing along her jaw line, her brown hair fell over her eyes again.

"My name is Sachiko?"

"Your body's called Sachiko."

"Then who am I?"

"A modified Akuma I made." His shoulders gave a shrug.

"Akuma." The terms made her head hurt and she ran a hand through her messy hair. And she asked in slight frustration, almost afraid of his answer. "Am I alone… Marian?" His name slipped out as an experimental trial.

He handed her a thin wiry brown clip and she took it in her hand. The metal was cool against the warmth in her palm. "There're others. They should be coming back in a few days."

She blinked, her brown eyes staring, tracing over his black and white uniform. He leaned over and taught her how to clip it into place; it blended in with the shade of brown in her hair. She gave him a wide smile that blossomed by itself.

_She remembered the cross on his chest, the metal was cool and the sun was hot. She didn't need to touch it to know._

'This is no place for any of you!'

She had wanted to scream that in their faces, Sachiko's hands tried to push them away but she froze before her eyes went wide. The sight of black, white and those silver crosses made her want to die. She knew what she had to do, the burgundy red to his hair still stung her head, they arrived in Japan and Sachiko had almost thought it would be too fast.

But the worry in their voices made her want to apologize. She bowed her head, brown hair falling, but never touching to block her view at the lot of people in the black lined with white. The crosses were bright and she was an Akuma that had finally run out of the curse Marian had placed on her.

"Chomesuke!!"

So that is who she was. His red hair wasn't quite Marian's shade and his voice wasn't quite as deep as Marian's either. But by the time she had registered who he was, her eyes were already black and the pentacle painted a shade of the night had finally surfaced on her forehead.

She gave a weak wave of Sachiko's hand and walked deeper into the island, infested with Akuma activity with a final prayer that they would all be okay.

She melted into the crowd that sat like dominos at the Earl's feet.

XXX Kuro

Love this asexual cutie. ;) I hadn't expect this to turned out slightly Cross x Cho fic?? At first I had just assumed it would be a Cho-centric ;DD


	8. August 10th

One dedicated to Rabi and Deak and Junior because I don't have the inspiration to write one for each of them! I had meant for this to be posted on his b-day but due to the fact that I am nowhere near a computer on the actual date, I had to be 5 days earlier D: (omg, just in time for Bookman's b-day XDD HBD Bookman!~ v)

Still, Happy Early Birthday to Rabi and a final something-something for the closing of the RaYu Fest! v I don't own. :)

XXX

**A Year in Length**

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**000 August 10th: The air bends and shimmers in waves in the hot hot heat.**

On his calendar, the one deep within his head, skull, brain, he had marked down the day when he would leave, when Rabi would die, when the war would be over.

_Ladies and gentlemen!_

_He was an actor, one of the best kinds too. He liked to put on a show. So let's put our hands together for the one and only, Junior!_

_He could hear clapping, indistinctive slapping of the flesh till their palms stung red. There was no cheering, no, they were much too sophisticated for that, there would only be polite clapping of the most sincere kind. _

It really was too hot to think straight.

The air just a bit further than his arm could reach was wavering, like a dissipating soul. But from the third point of view, he was simply looking so damn fine on such a hot cloudless day. And then again, he was only balancing on a very thin line.

Rabi was a sun soaked soul with too many ideas to keep his head straight. His brain ran a mile when he had only took a step into the cafeteria and his dreams went around the world when he had only tossed over in bed. Rabi was a star, the one of the brightest types too.

_Are you alright? He felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned, he smiled and he replied._

_Just fine. _

_He didn't know who he was even talking to._

_The curtains opened._

The heat burned.

Rabi faded into the background, for each day of the year. He was sweating and his brain was cooking beneath all those ideas that swam in boiling juices of smarts and sweat. Reaching up to brush away the heat seemed to be a chore by then and it was hardly even noon. He couldn't crack a grin and each back up plan was bursting like bubbles as he took a drink from his water bottle.

And the water was sun warmed; it disgusted him because Junior had his pet peeves too.

What a surprise.

He lost the energy that he usually bubbled with and he was pleading, with the back of his mind, that the Order would hurry up and give them uniforms that matched the Finders'. He missed white and loathed the black that was frying him alive.

He swallowed the water with a reluctance that could even leave Deak to wince at.

_Welcome, one and all. He smiled, he frowned, he pulled a sneer._

_He was Rabi. He could have been Deak. He will always be Junior._

_From the Bookman Clan, from history, from the past. _

_He made up the backdrop and the pages from the books were falling, falling fast. The spines fluttered open and the words spilled out. _

_It poured across the stage and Junior melted with an expression God had no name for._

Rabi tilted the bottle for another drink.

There was a certain stillness to the air that singled out the cicadas' song as it buzzed in his eardrums. Sending him over the top and into an abyss of the little squeaks and chirps that made up the song. His calendar, the one with his planned out schedule was disappearing.

Water splat against the pages and the words was spreading.

He took another drink and the letters were blending into each other.

He should have known better and listened to Bookman, he really should have just used the waterproof ink instead.

_Well there you have it, ladies and gentlemen!_

_There again was the sound of polite clapping, they stood up, applauded and picked up their bags. There was no longing stare at the stage, no expectations for an encore because this was a sophisticated party for the elites only._

_Sadly, show's over, but there is always next time. Come see us for our 50__th__ show, we are definitely expecting you._

_He pointed a finger, a bit impolite but for this time, it would be accepted because he was Junior._

_And Junior was boss when it came to living a lie._

The last drop of water touched his tongue. He couldn't read the words any longer and the sun burned in his iris flickered in green.

XXX Kuro

I apologize that it might seem kinda out there with all the switching between scenery but just take it as Rabi with heat getting into his brain. :)


	9. September 22nd

I am back for September! (Do I hear a welcome back or is that just my hallucinations again?) XD The basic ideas for the up coming chapters are already done and well off, its only the final chapter that is screwing me up DD: But I'll make it work! So enjoy this so far and I hope the Noahs bring you a great Autumn ;D (Yes, September 22nd is the official day of Autumn.) I don't own~

XXX

**A Year In Length**

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**000 September 22****nd****: The moon rippled in the water and the wind echoed in the air.**

In a complicated web of well-constructed love, the Noahs were a family, connected not by blood but by vague memories of one man's past lives.

The ripples ate at the moon in the fountain, made it wrinkled before smoothing the dull yellow out again with a layer of gentle wave.

Her legs dangled off of the second floor balcony railings, the black lace tangling up her calves, cutting across the pale smooth skin with a gothic touch. Bathed in the moonlight, her eyes were half lidded as she watched the twins running in the lawn with a murderous intent to their steps, Jasdero's light bobbing up and down with a steady glow.

"Heeheee!" And then he tripped over a rock and hurdled head first into the neatly trimmed grass, lying in the moist green like a pile of long straw blonde hair and leather pants. Yet he was still giggling and snickering, as he lay there, tangled with his own limbs as he tried to gather his bearings. Debitto on the other hand, just stood straight, staring down with a laugh to his cruelly twisted lips. "Pull up your pants, Jas."

He cocked his gun.

"He! It's low-ridin' for a reason! Debi-_to_!" He broke into another fit of giggles that left his bony frame shaking in hysterics, although the joke itself was barely even funny. Debitto took aim, closing one eye as he focused on his target.

"Oi! Twins!"

They snapped their identical golden eyes at the lukewarm voice. He walked out on to the patio, black shoes shined to reflect the moonlight off of the toe, top hat just a bit tilted to the left to make way for those crosses that marred his otherwise smooth gray forehead. Debito frowned deeply at the fact that he couldn't pull the trigger on his twin brother with the mocking laughter.

"What you want?" He lowered the gun and Jasdero scrambled up from the ground in a mangle of limbs and blonde locks.

"Earl wants to drink tea."

Jasdero walked up to him, footing swaying almost as though he would fall over with the exaggerated swing of his hips. They stood toe to toe and the blonde stared up at him with that unnerving golden gaze that swirled with a dangerous tip of insanity. "…Tea, Tyki?"

He let out a giggle at his own words before clinging on to the Portuguese man, his black fingernails digging into that expensive suit without a sense of consideration because Jasdero was ignorant like that.

Debito reached out and grabbed his twin from Tyki's arm, pulling on the hair as though they were strands not connected to the scalp. There was a deep scowl on his face; the hint of well-blended frustration and jealousy was hard to miss. "—'Dero!"

The blonde looked back, not with a turn of his head, but with a tilt of his head upwards until he was staring upside down right back at Debito. "Eeeep! Earl invite us to te—_a_! Tea! Debito! Tea!"

He stretched the word _tea_ as though it was really worth all the emphasis he sprayed over it. Debito rolled his eyes, extending a finger to jab at the blonde blinking owlishly up at him. "I listen too, you know." He gave a mutter to his twin and gave another jab to the smooth gray forehead; the light gave a bob at the force.

"Hehe!! Debito listens!!" Jasdero snickered as he straightened up, nails digging deeper into Tyki's shoulders as he lifted himself off the ground, wrapping his legs around Tyki's left knee. "Loook!"

He beamed at his twin as Debito gave a smirk, trotting up to Tyki's other side, he too climbed on. They both stared at the tall Portuguese as they waited for him to walk back into the house, the nasty grins identical on their faces. They waited and they waited, each testing the others' patience and with a loud growl and a glare to match, Tyki turned with great difficulty.

"Lose some weight, fat pigs!"

The other just gave a smirk back at each other behind the man's back, as they held on tighter.

She slid off the balcony railings and walked back into the house, heels silent on the plush expensive burgundy carpet. She stopped at the top of the stairwell and stared down just as Tyki and the twins came in.

They hung off of him in a way that made Rhode jealous.

But she bit her tongue and welcomed them with a sickeningly sweet smile and a twirl of her skirt.

"Eep! Rhode look sooo pretty!" Jasdero let himself drop to the ground before scrambling over to the girl with that innocent mouth splitting smile as he stared in amazement at all those delicate details in her skirt. Her mask slipped off as she gave a pat on Jasdero's head, ruffling his blonde locks, he had won her over once again with that oblivious mad stare.

"So where the fuck is this tea party?" Debito jumped off of Tyki and made a dark grimace as he washed his gaze around the main foyer. Eyes burning with the exact same cruelty, fingers toying with the black metal, warmed from the heat of his palm.

"If you relaxed for a second more, I can point you to the right way." Tyki's smooth voice slid out and he hit Debito over the head with a fist, not enough force to bruise the skin, just enough to bruise his ego.

Rhode's lips curled into a smile as she turned to the door with the golden handles, "come on up, the Earl is waiting." She beckoned with a black fingernail.

"We all know how he hates it when we're late."

The four of them echoed back at each other.

The door opened.

XXX Kuro

The Noahs in all their September glory! Yup, that's all I got to say ;P But one last shoutout to a friend who is today's b-day girl~ -sprinkles confetti on Lara- v


	10. October 31st

Because I left her out last chapter, I had to put her in this one. You just can't resist her. ;D A little treat right here for Halloween~ v I don't own anything as per usual.

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**A Year in Length**

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**000 October 31st: The sunset cast colors on rotten leaves like blood that splay on flesh.**

The faint burn of the crosses being cut into the flesh by a force no one could see. It was frightening and exciting, but a rebirth none the less.

The little girl jammed a fingernail into the fur of my coat. I barely felt it but pulled away with a glare to the golden rim of my eyes.

She didn't notice the stare, just swung her legs, smiling as though no one could see the bits and pieces of that cruel soul rejoicing beneath that shell of skin, bones, and flesh. She had black hair and a smile that could fool, me too if I hadn't caught her pulling the ponytail of the little girl that sat in front of her. Outside of that classroom window, I watched as her lips cruelly twisted into a childish smile.

I left and she found me when the bell rung out and classes were now a countdown that touched zero.

We sat side by side, she tilted her head to the side and the setting sun cast a tangy shine to her cheeks. She swung her legs and whispered beneath her breath.

"Not all good people do good things… and neither do all bad people do bad things… You know." She looked into the mango skies and the breaks between her words seemed to leave her breathless in the bronze glow that everything emitted with. The leaves strayed from the tree and the ground had a carpet of yellow, brown and red. She ran a hand on the bricks of the wall we sat side-by-side, smooth childlike fingertips running along the irregular pricks of the rough surface. The force she applied to her fingers almost left me thinking when her skin will break through.

And then she continued on a subject that I had assumed was long over.

"Because good people do bad things and bad people do good things too."

Her mouth broke out into a smile; lips gleaming with a shine from the burn of the setting sun. I stared at her without blinking even an eye and she turned to me, smile melting into something warmer and sweeter.

Childhood innocence as I recognized.

The cruelty dispersed from the ends of her hair and she was no longer the girl who saw humour in another little girl's pulled hair or a little boy's tripped and scrapped knee. She was just a little girl with a kink for the bads of the world.

She leaned over with that sweet chaste smile and fished something from her dress pocket.

It tinkled in the set skies and I couldn't see what it was from my seat on the wall.

"I name you, Lulu."

She tied a bell around my neck.

_Meow._

XXX Kuro

Biggest glitch in the world right here, Lulu ain't a cat (she is more of a panther…) Damn the newest chapter for destroying this whole piece DD: But you can always just read this with the anime in mind, afterall she was a cat in it (or as far as I could recall DD:) Still happy Halloween, tell me what you are dressed up as this year? ;D


	11. Novenber 11th

One of the shorter pieces in this series D: But it's Hev-centric (quite a rare thing too!) XD Posted for Remembrance Day, the Eleventh day of the Eleventh month in memory of fallen veterans that died for our country. I don't own anything. ;)

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**A Year In Length**

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**000 November 11th: Bare trees sway in the night waiting for the first white flake.**

Her name was no longer important, hadn't been important since the establishment, since He chose her, out of the blue or rather the gray that was now a burning hospital white.

She listened to her father and went for a confession; she came back with an innocence that began to grow in her. It continued to grow until it enveloped her, growing from within until her human body was only a state of the mind.

She had never asked to be chosen, never even wanted it. But she had closed her eyes and prayed to God, apologizing for the sins that may or may not even have been noticed. She had closed her eyes and everything was a glowing white instead of the darkness that she had once been scared of.

It was a reply she had never prayed for.

Hevlaska once hated children.

Hated, because she had lost the desire to hate let alone love anymore. But that have been years of years ago, she couldn't even remember why she hated children. But she did and she couldn't forget because it was one of the snippets that kept her human.

And on the days when there was only her and the stack of innocences that haven't found their accommodator, Hevlaska was sure God must have been multi-tasking when he handpicked her.

But nothing had stopped God from choosing her out of the billions.

Even though, once upon a time, she was just another young woman. And like them all, she just wanted to live a fuller life and love just a bit deeper.

She was bitter because she hadn't planned to become the one to save. She wanted to _be_ saved. But time mellowed down her bitterness and all she had left were the little pile of innocence that acted as her tasteless soul food. And all her regrets and secrets were only fragments of her memories now.

Hevlaska let out a sigh and knocked over the stacks of innocence with a bored sigh that tumbled from her lips.

"We are the Black Order." She shook his gloved hand with a hesitance that dripped in cold sweat because she knew what he should have said instead. _We are now the Black Order. _He should have said that because she was the first one to be compatible with an innocence and she loathed herself for it.

He let go of her hand and she dropped her arm to her side, fingertips just grazing at the faint patterned dress she wore that day. It used to be her mother's, before she died of a disease no one had a cure for. And the man stared into her eyes and said.

"God handpicked you."

"Why me?" She stared back at him, eyes glazed as she inhaled those words and let out a question.

He didn't have an answer.

The last thing she felt was the cool breeze turn cold on that God-forsaken day.

XXX Kuro

All the facts about Hev's past here are lies, or made up to make me sound better XD But now that I finished writing this, I am sort of curious about her real past! :D Second last chapter till the end, I can't believe it is nearly a year already!


	12. December 31st

Last chapter (teary face) of this series, time sure do past by fast, it had already been a year XD So for the last month of this year, it is almost 3 times as long as the previous chapters, I worked hard~ :D Its a group exorcist shot and I still don't own anything!

XXX

**A Year In Length**

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**000**** December 31st: A stretch of perfect white till their boot prints come crashing down.**

He could taste the cooling sensation as each snowflake melted into ice water on his cheeks. Each dreary lock of long damp hair clung to his skin, lying sleek and moist on the back of his neck as he ran. His mouth felt dry and his face felt numb from the burning of the intense winds at bay.

The snow blew, whistling around like a raging sand storm. A thousand million white flurries danced around him, criss-crossing in the air.

He stopped, heels dragging two long grey lines in the field of snow as he glided a little way off from where he intended to stop. The black shadow dotted in white stood still, waiting, panting silently as the demons woke from their long mechanical slumber. Yellow eyes lazily blinked from around him. And he waited just until one of them gave a stretch.

The hammer lengthened; handle stretching as the wood grew in an unnatural pace. His cold numb hands gripped it harder, feeling as yesterday's paper cut crack open from the blistering snow. The tails of his scarf whipped at his back, like colourless wings with tattered edges.

Something between hail and rain, it was cold and it was dreary. The sight brought disaster to mind and as it continued to fall, he continued to fight.

Squinting past the white, he caught vague grey shadows slowly moving, like monsters being resurrected right before his eye. His fingertips were cold and he could feel nature's elements calling out to him in haunting voices. He listened silently, eyelashes fluttering with ice as green flared to life.

She bit into chapped lips, tasting the frost that had glazed over and then the blood that had spilt over her pink petals of a rare flower. The deafening howl of the wind was loud in her ears and with the speed she is going at, she was surprised at how she wasn't warm at all.

The snow laid gentle kisses on her cheek, the way lovers were supposed to. They kissed their way down her jaw, slithering a cold and wet path to leave in its wake.

The chill came from the inside until it glazed over her very own skin and flesh. She gave a shiver just as her eyes caught sight of the dangerous yellow eyes blinking in a daze. Stopping in her tracks, she could feel their looming shadow in the white blizzard caving in from all sides. She could feel the warmth of her boots and the blood within that flowed with energy.

And then there was him, white in the mass of snow. His hair was soaked in ice. He pursed his lips, feeling as the skies poured its heart around him and he tightened his hold around the sword. Allen was almost taken back by the intense white.

000

The blistering cold had long since seeped through their assorted black and white uniforms. Torn and stiff with blood, they moved to their instincts and danced to the beat they have started.

The drums thundered in their heads, tearing their comfort into bits before sprinkling the shreds in front of their eyes. It fell and it fell, like the first snowflake before a million came after.

The faint ticking echoed deep inside the heart of the blizzard. Through the white and gray, there was a black shadow praying on her trembling legs. Miranda shivered and her clock ticked, the rewinding gears snapping against their will, forming a defensive aura around her and all the miles that she vowed to protect.

They can't lose now.

Oh.

_No we can't._

000

They dried out the Akumas in the Northern parts of Europe.

But the world was so big, so big, so big and they were just so small in comparison.

The cold was a stifling sort of cold and they could barely get the heat back into their systems.

Allen stumbled into the worn motel, holding on to the red head that clutched on to his sides. He was bleeding; they were all bleeding and Miranda's eyes watered at the sight of them as her time rewind back to the present. She panted in exhaustion, eyes shut as tears leaked from behind thick dark lashes. She muttered a silent apology, knowing full well, no one woould hear her.

"Not everything is your fault."

She snapped her head up in reflex, the tears flowed freely as her eyes met a cool blue gaze. She blinked as she reached up to wipe her half dried cheeks in haste. "K-kanda…?"

He rolled his eyes at her state and gave a low mutter, cold fingers running through the knots in his loose hair. "Stop crying like a kid already."

"I didn't me-mean to be a b-bother, I'm so sorr-ry!" She bowed her head as she clutched at the edge of her uniform, fingers cold inside her black gloves. She was nervous and no one could blame her.

"Kanda!"

The sharp voice cut into their isolated corner of the lit up room.

He looked up, only to see Rinali frowning at him with those chocolate brown eyes. There was disapproval in the way she looked at him and despite the age difference, there was still a sense of overpower as he took a step back.

Rinali took a seat as she wrapped an arm around Miranda's shoulders, shaking lightly from the cold, the fright and everything else combined. She rested Miranda's head on her shoulder as a sign of comfort before sighing out for the childhood friend from her past. "That's no way to talk to Miranda."

He turned his head with a soft snort, hair following in an array of a mess; the black strands had a natural curl from the melted snow. Kanda walked over to an empty table before taking a seat with a loud thump of the chair as he grazed its legs across the wooden floors. And it really wasn't long before Rabi came over, hand still clutching at his sides.

Allen followed with a hand full of bandages and see through gauze. The two of them watched as Rabi gingerly sat down. Before, he followed and the occupants of the table counted up to three. There was a weary smile before a sigh came to accompany it. "Stop moving around already, Rabi."

"I just want to see how Yuu was doing." He pulled out a grin, it seemed dimmer than normal but it was the best he could do. He felt Allen pulling at his arm to sit him up properly. Rabi knew that he was slumping and the pain was throbbing like a constant thorn embedded into his body.

Kanda gave a flip of a hair and an annoyed roll of his eyes back at the red head. "If you have time to worry over me, worry over yourself first."

Rabi chuckled as he took off his exorcist jacket with a pain wracked ending to that soft laugh.

"Kanda."

"What do you want, moyashi?" He turned his head from watching the red head to rest his eyes on the comrade that he could never take a tolerance to. There was an equal amount of pressure, each pressing the other down in a contest neither of them could win. Allen bit back the insults and swallowed them down his throat, unwillingly. "Hold up Rabi so I can fix him up."

They both watched as the redhead swayed on his feet to sit back down.

"He lost quite a bit of blood already."

"…Whatever."

But Kanda leaned over and supported the Bookman Apprentice nonetheless, holding him up at the elbows, to keep him from slumping over the table. And Allen worked in silence as he wrapped the bandages around and around his friend.

The room was warm, almost to the point where they were all suffocating with their very own breath, but they were still cold, shivering from within their bones. Outside the foggy windows, all they could see were flurries of white against pitch black. And then they turned back, back into the warmth that was slowly nurturing back from harm.

The demons were gone and they were still alive.

They couldn't help but let out a breath from between their lips.

"Is he going to be alright?"

The three of them turned their heads, looking back to catch Rinali's smile. Allen tied the knot and Kanda released his grip on Rabi, giving a weak wave of his hand, he swayed to lean against the edge of the table, small smile across his lips. "I'll live."

They would all live, one for another, one for a reason the other did not know. Because they were the nameless heroes chosen by a God no one believed in.

The world outside was black; an envelope closing in on them and the northern snow fell in flurries of white, like bits and pieces of scrap paper sprinkling down from heaven. They gave themselves over to the cause of the war because in the end, it was never about the black and white of this tale, but the gray tones in between it all.

XXX Kuro

I say my million years of sorries for Krory. B/c I just totally neglected his existence... OTL Thank you very much to everyone who read or reviewed or did both, everyone's support was appreciated! :D


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